A Crimson Flower Wilting In The Silver Snow
by CoatofArms
Summary: After waking from his five-year slumber, Byleth takes a long walk back to Garrec Mach as he comes face to face with the individual who came to mean so much to him while hurting him all the same. Based loosely on the events of the Silver Snow route.
1. Chapter 1

_Five years?_

The extensive passage of time continued to flood his mind as he slowly walked to the monastery. Given his duties as both a mercenary and a professor, Byleth would occasionally spend his free time resting. During arduous periods he found that he could sleep for an entire day, two at the most, but never had he lost so much time simply sleeping.

_Five years? _

Each step feeling heavier as he soon thought about the students he left behind in the aftermath of the battle.

_Ferdinand, Petra, Caspar, Bernadetta, Linhardt, Dorothea, Edel…_

_No..._

He quickly shifted his thoughts back to the faces of the six students who remained by his side in the defense of Garrec Mach. Four of which had family in Adrestia, four who would have been next in line to lead their respective noble houses, one who carried the entire future of her homeland on her shoulders, and one with a heart so grandiose that the mere thought of war hurt her very soul. Despite all of that, they chose to put their faith in him. Willing to abandon their families and homes all for him. In a single year, he managed to positively impact their lives. Patiently listening to every strife, providing critical yet affectionate advice, and prioritizing their safety over his as he ensured none of them would ever fall, until now.

Byleth traversed through much of the ruins, bearing witness to the damage from five years prior and degeneration from the lack of maintenance. Large vines protruded across several structures as nature attempted to reclaim itself in the absence of human ingenuity.

_Rhea._

The greenery reminded Byleth of her, Rhea's verdant hair and eyes which previously unnerved him became aspects of reassurance once he exhibited similar features of his own. The trust she put into him, combined with the familial warmth made his chest ache as despairing thoughts took place of his memories.

_Five years,_

_If any of them are dead then I am no doubt to blame. The Imperial army was too overwhelming, we just barely pushed them back and even then they still managed significant reinforcements. They gave everything they had for me and I repay them with a nap. She said everybody here young and old was in my hands, my damned bloodstained hands._

Byleth walked up the stairs leading to the Goddess Tower, he had but a single memory of the hallowed place. Man and woman, commoner and noble, a former mercenary and heir apparent Emperor, a professor and his student. Two souls sharing a private conversation discussing happier times and first loves. He could never share his first love in that moment because he had only just discovered it. The unrelenting ambition that boomed from her voice when discussing the future, her lilac eyes carefully watching and analyzing his every move, the crimson blush that encompassed her features when he gave her gifts or whenever he was near. The individual who personally confided in him all of her past anguish, the girl who asked that he continue to guide her well into her eventual reign. Thoughts that would ordinarily make a heart flutter only hurt him to his core.

"Why am I even here? I know they won't come, but here I am anyway…

How has it already been five years? Time stops for no one, I suppose."

Byleth recognized the voice in the distance, how could he not? After all, it was the same voice that gave him comfort after a hard-fought battle.

"My teacher, you aren't some all-powerful or indestructible God, do you have any idea how much you have come to mean to the others? ...To me?"

He recalled how his constant neglect for his own life weighed on her. Whenever he would take a blade strike meant for her or step in front of an incoming blast of magic to shield her, she would consistently chastise him for thinking so little of himself and about the value of his own life. He felt an immense amount of adoration and care for his well-being that had been all too foreign to him prior to his tenure as a professor.

_Did she feel the same way? _

_"I wish you were someone whose heart could be swayed by my words and deeds. If it were so, I would have done anything to make you my ally." _

_Not likely... _

He thought about the last thing she said to him, it sounded so distant, so calculating. Almost as if she only cared about the potential gain his combat prowess could bring in the inevitable war. Byleth attempted to search for an answer in her words but could not see past her deception. Approaching slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing throughout the tower as he finally came to a sudden halt before speaking.

"Edelgard…"

She turned around to face him immediately, a mix of emotions displayed across her face. Relief, longing, regret, despair, and finally what looked almost like, pleading?

"Huh? It's... it's you, what are you doing here?" she asked almost breathlessly.

Byleth thought for a minute about his answer, truthfully he didn't know what to say. He remembered the promise she made to return but did not expect her to commit after everything she had done, but deep down a small part of him wanted her to be here. Knowing her to never take uncertainty for an answer and his unwillingness to express the truth, he settled for a lie.

_You tell a lie, I'll tell one too, It makes this easier to do._

"A whim"

"Highly doubtful," she responded instantaneously.

She immediately picked up on his attempt to lie, how had she become so adept at reading him? His face previously unmoving, not bearing a single emotion somehow betrayed its iron-clad exterior and exposed itself to the woman its wearer loved. Would lying even be worth it at this point? Knowing that any and all falsehoods he attempted to say could be easily be deciphered by her. He swore to himself to answer any other question she had for him honestly.

"So, you were alive…"What have you been doing all this time?" she asked with a certain curiosity to her voice.

_Five years, such a long time I thought about you, It makes this easier to do._

"I was sleeping."

"Joking at a time like this… Well, if you don't wish to tell me, I won't try to persuade you," she stated disapprovingly.

Her expression seemed to turn to one of anger as her brow tensed and her cheekbones fell. Perhaps he was wrong about her, in that instant, he gave her the complete truth, all that his unbeating heart could bear but rather than believe him she assumed it was just another lie. After a brief moment of silence, her features changed once more. She attempted to keep a neutral appearance but her heart ultimately betrayed her as it filled with a yearning for the man she loved.

"All that matters is this… Will you return to the Empire with me?"

Byleth felt a sudden confusion begin to take hold as he pondered not only how would he do that given he made himself an enemy of Adrestia but also why would he? After everything that transpired, after he chose to protect Garrec Mach, after he pointed his blade against the Empire, pointed his blade against her, she still wanted him to stand by her side. Her question made him feel sick while simultaneously manifesting a familiar warmth within. He very nearly said yes until six faces appeared before his thoughts in rapid succession.

_Ferdinand, Petra, Caspar, Bernadetta, Linhardt, Dorothea_

His students who shared in his disparity when she declared war against the Church of Seiros, the very same students who fought alongside him throughout every single battle. He came to see them as more than just his students but… his family. He looked down at the woman in front of him, she stared back at him with that trademark lilac gaze. He could see just how fatigued she appeared as he took note of the red in the whites of her eyes. Upon further inspection, it almost looked as though she might breakdown and cry, but he knew better. She was never a woman to shed a tear, not for anything, not for anyone. Even so, he wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and give her the most affectionate hug he could give, to reassure her that everything would be alright as long as she put her faith in him.

_She needs me, her eyes say as much. Just hug her, she's close enough. _

Byleth attempted to move his arms to embrace her but found that no matter how hard he tried they would not move.

_Just hug her, you care about her after all… Don't you?_

_Just hug her, she means the world to you… Doesn't she?_

_Just hug her, can you honestly say you don't love her?_

"I can't."

Byleth felt his mouth suddenly move on his own, blurting out an answer that was meant for his thoughts. Never had he intended to give her such a flat answer, he could not commit to leaving with her but wanted to give her a better answer than the callous sounding words that spilled from his lips without reservation. He immediately recoiled at her downcast expression before she began speaking, not once looking up from the ground below.

"As expected. I knew your answer before I had even asked the question."

Before long, she lifted her head, trying her best to feign determination. She steeled her features, looking confident and unbreakable as ever, she put her hands up to his cheeks and angled his head down slightly to meet her height before pressing her lips softly against his. Byleth stood there allowing her to kiss him before he reciprocated, placing his hands at her back. The pair stood pressed together for what seemed like hours in the silence of the Goddess Tower, only the sounds of the wind that ran through the empty monastery and her heartbeat as he began to touch her. Eventually, she pulled away from him with a look of acceptance as if she confirmed a long-sought out answer. As she moved from his space she didn't do so suddenly or reluctantly, no nervous crimson to cover her cheeks. Despite passionately kissing him the way she did, her face heavily contradicted her actions as she wore a blank expression.

"Given your answer, that means… we're enemies now, you and I, "My teacher, the time for sentimentalities has come to an end!"

She abruptly backed away from him and drew a familiar sword from its sheath. It was jagged in structure across the blade while the handle was white with a gold finish. Dead center, just before the handle ended and the blade began, Byleth spotted the symbol of the Church of Seiros. Upon making this observation, he instantly remembered where he first laid eyes on the sword or rather who wielded it.

_Rhea…_

Before he had any more time to think, she suddenly rushed at him forcing Byleth to immediately draw the Sword of the Creator. She swung the blade at him as it collided with his own, his facial features, static and emotionless. Neither gave a single inch, by now he was unsure which of them was stronger. Back at the academy, he managed to get the drop on her every time. Their sparring sessions usually ended with him extending his hand out to gently lift her up before making a few critiques as was his duty.

"_You're too sloppy, you just swing without giving it a single thought. Remember, it's a sword, not an axe. If you expose a single weakness to an opponent, mark my words you will die."_

"_A bit harsh, don't you think?"_

"_Sorry, I promise to make up for it with tea and sweets, if you'll indulge me?"_

"_As long as it's Bergamot and it's with you, all is forgiven." _

Now though, circumstances were different. She was older, wiser, and no doubt stronger than she was as a teenager. Even with all of these reasonable explanations before him, Byleth knew that they still weren't evenly matched. After all, It's difficult to determine combatant's strength against one another when both parties were holding back. She began to speak against struggled breath, her words direct but also filled with an immense amount of regret.

"Even though our swords may cross as they do now...

The pair began to pick up speed, for every blow she sent his way, Byleth deflected. Neither of them going overboard so as not to hurt the other. The sound of colliding steel replaced the sound of wind from earlier as the noise from their "battle" carried throughout the empty tower. Both of them ended the spar by placing their swords to each other's necks. The Sword of the Creator at hers and The Sword of Seiros at his. Both silently stared at each other before she apologetically dipped her head to continue speaking, the Sword of the Creator now mere inches from her head.

...There's no denying that our chosen paths never will."

She sheathed her sword, quickly turning away from him never once looking back as she spoke to him one final time.

"Goodbye. My teacher. When next we meet, one of us will breathe their last."

Edelgard then walked away into the darkness of the hall before her, not once daring to turn around for fear of what she may do. Despite how she felt, her goals were all that mattered to her. If that meant killing the one person who she came to trust with everything, the one person who made her feel like she could just be herself, the one person who she had fallen in love with, then so be it.

Byleth watched her until she was out of sight, he stood facing her direction before hearing sounds of combat coming from outside the monastery. Swords clashing even louder than they had been earlier he heard familiar shouts and cries before six faces raced in his mind once more.

_Ferdinand, Petra, Caspar, Bernadetta, Linhardt, Dorothea_

He turned in the opposite direction, his sword at the ready before he took a single step forward with a pained breath he said softly to seemingly no one.

"Goodbye Edelgard."


	2. Update and Apologies

**I wanted to thank everyone who read and commented on this fic. I intended to leave it as a one-shot but in my lack of perception, I failed to notice that I made seem like a continual story with the incorrect tags. I have been uploading a longer Edelgard/M!Byleth fanfiction on A03 that I want to upload here as well, in addition to some one-shots related to three houses. My question to you all is this fic something you would like to see possibly continued one day? I apologize for not catching this sooner and giving readers a false impression. **


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